Altdorfer, Albrecht

Samson and Delilah (Judges 16:19)

1506; Pen and dark brown ink heightened with white, on brown prepared paper; 17.0 x 12.0 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Within a landscape setting, Samson lies asleep with his head upon Delilah's lap while she, holding the scissors with which she will cut his hair and deprive him of his strength, gestures towards the soldiers in the background who wait to arrest him (Judges 13:16). This autonomous drawing on colored ground is one of four by Altdorfer dated 1506. The fine pen work is characteristic of his early drawings. This drawing is annotated with an unusual, Italianate form of Altdorfer's name, also seen on two other drawings of early date, Witches Sabbath and Allegory with Pax and Minerva, both of which show the influence of Mantegna's designs. This Italianism has been taken as evidence for a trip to Italy, though no such trip is documented.